valerius



April 1931 T. L. VALERIUS 1,800,970

STORING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 8, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTDR BY d 06C? ATTEIRNEY April 14, 1931.

T. L. VALER'IUS STORING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 8, 1926 3Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VE N TDR fl TTURNE Y April 14, 1931. -r. L. VALERIUS1,800,970

STORING AND DISPENSINQAPPARATUS Filed Nov 8, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 IllINVENTUH ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 14, 1931 UNITED ST TES PATENT orrlcsIF-E-EQDQliE etrains. r armature. wise-users. AS H to: ma si e Con.-

romrron, o JEFFEBSQN, WISCONSIN, A conces i n or wlscoNsl Applicationfiled November 8, 192:.

This invention relates to an apparatus for storing foods, delicacies andbeverages and for dispensing the same or permitting access theretowhereby they may be readily dispensed. More particularly, the inventionrelates to an apparatus having refrigerated compartments or spaceswherein different degrees of temperatures are maintained to the end thatdifferent kinds of food materials, delicacies and beverages may bestored and readily dispensed. 1

My improved apparatus has been applied for use in storing and dispensingfrozen materials, such as ice cream, ices and sherbet in bull:- andbrickforms, bottled beverages and carbonated and other beverages adaptedto be supplied from valved nozzles or draft arms and flavoringmaterials, as well as other materials fonh-uman consumption.

@ne object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this characterhaving a plurality of storing compartments refrigerated from a singlesource or means and main- I tained at different degrees of temperaturedependent upon the character of the goods or materials to be stored anddispensed.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide in apparatus ofthischaracter having separate brine tanks containing storing compartments,an improvcdtsiphon system between them, whereby one compartment may bemaintained at a degree of temperature lower than that of the othercompartment and such temperature of the latter regulated and controlledto suit temperature changes exteriorly of the apparatus or the conditionof the food material in the compartment.

Another object of the invention is to provide in apparatus of thischaracter improved means for transferring the refrigeration effccts fromone compartment to another, whereby desirable temperaturesmay bemaintained and controlled in compartments other than those immersedinthe refrigerant.

fh further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of thischaracter that is simple in construction and readily fabricated. i c

Other objects of the inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in theart to which Serial no. 147,139.

my invention relates from; the following 8- scription taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, Wherein++ Fig. 1:is a frontView of an apparatus embodying my invention, parts being broken away tofacilitate the illustration.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a section on the 1i:n6 3 of g Fi 4 is a section on the line HofiFig.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5,5 Qil F ig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 Of Fig. 3..

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section, being similar to parts shown in Fig. 1,but somewhat enlarged.

Fig. 8 is a detail View.

In the drawings, 1 indicatesas an entirety a structure or casing mountedon suitable legs 2, having a front wall 3, a rear wall 4;, end walls 5,a bottom 6. and a top 7. 3;,"43, indicate spaced transverse partitionswhich cooperate with the front, rear and walls to form compartments 8, 9and 10 to which reference will later be 1nade..,'l l1etop '3, end walls5. and rear wall 4 are constructedto sup.- port a casing orsuper-frame.11, having a front wall 12, a rear wall liS, a top-wall 14 and end walls15. The purpose of thecasingll will later appear. The structure 1 maybeconstructed in any desired manner. v Asone example, I have shown it toinclude uprights 1a and sills 1?). Each of the walls 3, 4f, 5, 6,, andif desired the top 7 comprises an inner wall 16, an outer wall 17 andsuitable insulating material (such as cork) 18 between them,

togprevent heatconduction throughthe wall- The inner wall 16,.isformedfrom-sheetstock thatispre-ferably made from a suitable materialincapable of rusting or being affected by brine; for example, copper,and thcjoints between sections of the sheet, stock and alon its cornersare connected together in any suitablemanner sothat each com oartment 8,9 10, is liquid tight and serves as a "tank. The outer wall 17 is alsoformed from sheet stock and may be applied in sections and held in placebystrips 16a, the latter being suitably secured in position by devices17 (see Fig. 1). Each of thepartitions 3, 4", comprises spaced walls 19,19 preferably formed from the same material as the walls 16. A portionof the space between the walls 19,119, form end to end thereof and fromthe top; 7 a downwardly any desired distance (for example, approximatelythree-fifths of the distance from the top 7 to the bottom wall 6) isfilled with a suitable insulating material 20, preferably materialsimilar to that between the walls 16, 17 and below the insulatingmaterial 2Q I providea heat conduction means, indicated as an entiretyat 21, whereby therefrigeration efiects of the refrigerant in thecompartments 8 and 10 maybe utilized to maintain a relatively low degreeof temperature in thecompartment 9 for purposes which will later appear.The conduction means 21 will be here inafter described'.

- Thewalls 16,17, 19, 19', are shown-herein for illustrative purposesina diagrammatic 1 manner, since such walls may be formed in variousways. For-example, each ofthe inner and outerwalls forming therespective compartments-may be formed in one piece; or'two or moresections of materialmay be secured together and then positioned.

In carrying out anydesiredmethod, it is essential that all joints bemade liquid tight since each of the compartments 8, 10, is filled with arefrigerant, preferably brine, and the compartment 9'is partially filledwith water.

The lower portion of the sheet wall 16'on V the inner face of the rearwall 4 is offset, as shown at 4a, between the partitions 3, 4',

and the space formed by tlie ofl'set is filled with insulating materiala, preferably similar to the insulating material already referred to. Asshown in Fig. 4 thelower inner portion of the walls 19 terminate at 'theoffset, whereas "the lower portion of the walls 19 extend to the wall 4and thus form the end walls of the ofiset 4a. 22 indicates a pipeextending through the insulatingmm terial20aand openings formed in thewalls 19,to form a liquid connection between the "compartment 8andcompartment l0, thepipe 22 forming part of; a siphon system to belater referred to. Byproviding the'insulated offset 4a,"provisionfismade forinsulating the pipe sogthat the temperature of the'ibrine flowing from the compartment 8 to the'com-g partme'nt'lOwill notbe lowered before reach- 1 ing the latter and the brine fiowing throughthe pipe '22 will not afle'ct the temperature" V of the air andmaterials in the compartment I 9? By the arrangement shown, theseadvantages are attained andat the same time a direct connectionfrom thecompartment 8 to the compartment, 10 is provided; 22a in dicates a pipeconnecting the upper portions of thecompartments 8, 10, and serving as areturn connection for the siphon: system. As

' shown, the pipe 22a leads throughisuitable openings in the partitions3, 4, and prefer ably extends through, the compartment 9 so that accessmaybe readily-had to a regulating made. V

- shown."

means 22-. to Whichreference will later beg;

23 indicates able refrigerating mediumis expanded to effectrefrigeration. The apparatus 23, coman apparatus wherein a suit-' monlytermed a boiler, is providedwith a drum 23a and aseries-of coils 23b andis preferablyimmersed in the brine in the compart-ment "8. The boiler 23is connected by piping with acondenser and a suitable coinpressor,whereby'the mediumis compressed and returned to the boiler. Thecompressor 7 is operated by a suitable power means. vThe condenser, thecompressor, the pipingto and from the boiler andthe power means are nothey fmay'benof any desired con struction. V

24 indicatesa chamber mountedi'in the I compartment 8 in spaced relationto the walls thereof so that it may be entirely surrounded by the brinein the compartment, The side walls-of the chamber 24 maybe connected tox 27 28, indicate chambers preferably simis '95 lar in construction tothe chamber. 24,;both mounted in the compartment 1 0 in spaced relationtoeach other and, the walls thereof so that each is surrounded by brineAs providedwith shown, the chambers 27, 28, register with openings29 inthe top 7 andthese openings are provided with suitable covers 30. Itwill .7

be understood that the. walls of the chambers 24, 27- and 28, like thewalls 16 and 17 are shown diagrammatically. Such walls may be formedfrom suitable material and-connected in a fixedoradetachable, manner totheinner wallsof the bottom 6and -top7;

- 1110116 applicationtofgmy nvention, the

chamberj2 lis filled with ice, cream packaged inbric'k form or receivescans 24 whichare suit'ably lilledwithpackagedice cream, and v V thechambers 27; 28,":receive cans 27', 28" containing ice cream'inbulkform. I As; is;well

known, it is desirableto subjectthe ice cream in brick form to arelatively low temperature, approximately zero or2 or 3 degrees belowzero, whereasitjs'desirableto subject the ice cream in bulkformto asomewhat higher temperature, whereby it may be maintained' in a'conidtion which permits it to be readily dispensed, as by dipping itoutwith a spoon or scoop, At the same time it is advantageous to providebut'one boiler inthe apparatus, which W-lll provide themaximum lowdegree of temperature in the. compartmont 8 and-to controlthetemperaturezof'the brine in the" compartmentilO to securethe conditionsjust referred to. For this purpose, t I provideafsiphon:system,"comprising the pipe 22 connecting the lower portions ofthe compartments 8, and 10 and the pipe 22a 1 comprising a valve 31 tocontrol andregulate the flow of the brine through it, theoperation ofwhich will result in adjusting the temperature of the brine in thecompartment 10 and thus regulate the hardnessof the ice cream stored inthe chambers 27, 28. That is, by

opening the valve 31 and allowing the brine to freely flow through thepipe 22s the temperature of thebrine in the compartment 10 is lowered;byadjusting the valve to throttle such flow, the temperature of thebrine is raised. its already set forth, the pipe 22a extends through thecompartment 9 and as this compartment is provided with a cover 32,access to the valve 31 is readily effected and since the valve 31 may beof any ordinary type, it maybe adjusted in an easy manner. In thisarrangement, the temperature of the brine in the compartment 10 isregulated and controlled independently of the temperature of the brinein the compartment 8 and independently of the power means and thevarious automatic controlling devices therefor and the boiler 23. Inother words, the power means and its control devices may be set toautomatically operate by the service engineer to maintain the desiredrefrigeration of the brine in the compartment 24, and by means of theregulating means 22' the user may adjust and regulate the temperature inthe compartment 10 to suit varying conditions, for example, thetemperature of the room in which the apparatus is installed and therelative hardness of the ice cream served to customers.

33,3 l, indicate pipe coils disposed in the lower portion of thecompartment 9. One end of the coil 33 is connected with the waterservice supply,shown at 351; its other end is connected by a pipe 36with a suitable draft arm 35 One end of the coil 34 is connected with asuitable supply of soda water; its

other end is connected by a pipe 37witha suitable draft arm 34:. Bothdraft arms-33, 34 are mounted in a wall 38, forming part of the casing11, above a suitable drain 39, from which a waste pipe 39 extends, itsdischarge end being arranged to discharge the water into an outlet l0extending through the bottom 6, leading to a suitable discharge means(not shown). 11 indicates a frame supported in the compartment 9, beingpreferably mounted on the coils 33, 34:, and adapted to hold variousmaterials, such as beverages in bottled form, butter and eggs, etc. Theframe i1 is of open form for example, spaced strips suitably connectedtogether. Thecompartment 9 is partially filled with water, preferablysutllcient to immerse themajor portion of the coils33, 34. a a a Theheat conduction means :21 is preferablydisposed between the walls 19,19,forming each of the partitions 3', 4, altho such means may be omittedfrom either part1t1on i when desired, where one such means is foundsulficient. The conduction means extends upwardly from the bottoms6 anydesired distance, but preferably to a point above the support 41. Theheat conductionmeans 21 serves to transmit through the wallsconstitutingthepartitions 3, l, suificient refrigeration to lower thetemperature of the materials stored in the compartment 9 to thedesireddegrce and to maintainisuch degree of temperature as long as theapparatus is kept working. Each conduction means 21 the walls throughwhich conduction is effected may be adjusted or varied, so that thetemperature in the compartment will be suitable to keep the materialswithout'aifecting their condition or the packages containing them, andat a temperaturesuitablefor consumption. As the heat conduction means inzonta-ly; The walls forming the corrugations may be plane surfacesdisposed at angles to each other. The corrugated sheet 42is slid intoposition through the front wall, the front end of the space being closedby the insulation material and the wall 17.

In positioning the sheet,i't is flexed or ex panded slightlyso that thecrown edges of the corrugations willcontact withthe inner surfaces ofthe walls19,19., However, due

to distortion of the sheet 42 and walls 19, 19, A

it may be impossible to so arrange 'the corrugations '43 that theircrown edges will make contact throughout their length'with thewalls 19,19', and as aresult the heat conduction will be diminished and it willbe impossible to adequately remedy the defect.

To overcome this condition, I removably is so constructed that the totalthickness of mount in each ct -the spaces formed by the corrugationsaround rod 44 substantially equal in length to thelength of the sheetandpreferably of solid material to make it relatively heavy. Each rod 44 isfreeto gravitate downwardly on the adjacent corrugated wall and becomelodged against such wall and theadjacent wall 19 or 19", and thus formcontinuous contact therewith sonthat there is one or moremetallic pathsfrom the wall 19tothe wall 19 to transmit or conduct the temperature ofthe brine to the water and airin the compartment 9. Where the:temperature of-the water and air the compartment 9 is lowered too much,then one or more rods 44 are removed, to reduce the total thicknes'softhe metal paths through which conduction takes place. .By increasingordecr'easing the number of rods 44, the tempera-- ture ofthe'compartment canbe adjusted or controlled to suit varying conditions.By preferencethe sheet 42 and rods 44 may be formed from a'metal whichhasa relatively high coefficient of heat conduction; I have found byexperience that a corrugated-sheet formed from copper and rods-formedfrom brass serves to conduct the heat in an efficient manner. 1

The casing-11 is provided with partitions forming Chambers 45 forcracked ice and chambers 46 to receive fruit and syrup jars 47 (see Fig;6). The jars 47 fit suitable openi vention relates many'change's inconstruction and widely differing embodiments and applications ofmyinventi'on'will suggest themings 48 formed in thetop 14; The upperends of each ar is providedywith a flange which "rests on the top walland each jar may be provided with a suitable dispensing meansfor-effecting discharge or" the flavoring material through its spout'50. The chambers 46 may be linedvwith suitable material 46a to makethem liquid tight, so that they may be. partially filled with water whendesired.

'1 prefer to refrigerate the chambers 46 so as to keep the flavoringmaterials cold, for

dispensing purposes, aswell as toprevent them from'spoiling. For thispurpose the casing is opened along itsbottom portion,

or between the walls 12 and 13 to expose the bottom of the wall-46a 'tothe relative low temperature of the spaces above the compartments 8, 10. To supplement this refrigerating effect, I prefer to positionbetweeneach chamber 46 and the top wall of the adjacent compartment a section"ofsuitable material 51, such as metal having,a high'co-eflicient r ofheat'conductivity, by means of which the relatively low temperature fofthe brine in the adjacent compartment is transmitted by con- 1du'ction-from the topwall of the compartment tothe bottom wall ofthechamb'er 46. The metal section 51 isr emovably mounted between thesewalls and ifone such section is found insuflicient to lower thetemperature in the adjacent chamber 46, then I may use two or moresections of metal. By preference, the metal section51 is corrugated,which permitsit to be compressed, when positioned,

so that it engages the walls with a spring tension. If. desired, eachchamber 46 may be filled with sufficient water to immerse a portionofthe jars 47, thewater thusserving as a 'mediumi': through which thelow temperature is conducted from the .wallof the'cham her to the jar toinsure the desired cooling of theflavoring therein; v

To those skilled in the art-to which my inselves withoutdepartingfr'omthe spirit and scope thereof. {My disclosures and the descriptionherein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any senselimiting. vWhatlclaimisi w v '1. In apparatus oftheclass described, thecombination of apair of compartments for containing a refrigeratedmedium, 'aninter- V I mediate compartment, means 1n one of the firstmentioned compartments for refri erat ing themediumtherein, a thermo-siponic system between said first mentioned compart-v ments, said systemcomprising upper and lowportions respectively of said compartments,

er pipes connected to the'upper and lower one of said pipesbeinginsulated and the I other pipe extendingthrough saidcintermediatecompartment, and means in thelast mentioned pipe for flcontrolling theflow of the medium therethrough: p g

2; In apparatus of the class described',-the combination of a pair ofcompartments for containing a refrigerated'medium, an intermediatecompartment, means in one ofthe first mentioned compartmentsfor refrierating the medium therein, a thermo-sip onicf system comprising pipesconnecting the lower tition comprising walls spaced from-eachother,porti'ons of the opposed surfaces of said walls'being exposed, anda section of metal between said wallsand shaped so that. portions of themetal engage the exposed portions of the walls.

4; An apparatus as claimed in claimfl in p 5. An apparatus asclaimed'in" claim 3 in whichjsaid section of met al is corrugated anddevices'for transferring heat are mounted'in the corrugations. Y V r- Y6. In apparatus of the-class described,"the combination of a pair ofcompartments, the

partition between saidcompartments comprising spaced walls, atemperature changing medlum 1n one compartment, a SGGtlOIl of which saidsection of metal is corrugatedxcorrugated material between said spaced 4walls, and devices in certain of the spaces} formed by the corrugationsand arranged to effect contact between said and said section ofmaterial. 7

partition; walls I 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim '6 in which :thecorrugations extend horizontally and said devices compriseroundedmembers. V I j r ,7 a

8. In apparatus ofthecla'ss described, the

combination' of'aframecontaining compartments side by sideian'd aliasingabove them and shaped to form a chamber, dispensing devices mounted insaid chamber, a refrigerated medium in oneof said compartments, meansdisposed in the wall between said compartments serving as a conductionwall to effect refrigeration in the other compartment, and a section ofheat conduction material between the top wall of the medium containingcompartment and the bottom wall of said chamber.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 in i which said section ofmaterial is expansible. 10. In apparatus of the class described, thecombination of two compartments having their adjacent side walls inspaced relation,

a section of metal having horizontally extending corrugations betweensaid side Walls, and devices in the spaces formed by said corrugationsand arranged to gravitate downwardly thereon so as to normally contactwith the metal of said section and the adjacent side wall.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

THEODORE L. VALERIUS.

